Exercise – All the chapters start with two opening examples. It is often a good idea to ask the students to read through these examples and then use the similarities and differences between them to promote a discussion on the topic. In this chapter, the two examples are IKEA and Virgin Atlantic. Questions such as the following could be used to prompt discussion.

(a) Did either of these companies simply conform to the conventional operations model in their sectors or did they devise something new?

(b) What did each of these companies do differently to previous furniture retailers and computer companies?

(c). Why do you think they decided to be different from other companies in their sector in the way they manage their operations?

(d) What advantages did making these changes give them?